Latest Articles
The National Collegiate Women’s Varsity Rugby Association (NCWVRA) season culminated Sunday, as top-ranked Quinnipiac and Army competed for the first-ever title.
The top-two-ranked varsity teams, Quinnipiac and Army, won their NCVWRA semifinals against Norwich and American International College, respectively, and head to the first-ever varsity championship. The finalists split their regular-season matches by a total of five points, so a good game should evolve.
The Quinnipiac vs. Army game pit the varsity league’s top two teams against each other in a game that would bring the squads’ relative improvements into focus. When the squads competed on Sept. 12, the Black Knights staged a brilliant comeback to win 29-24.
For the third time this fall season, the Army Athletic Association has named a member of the women’s rugby team the Athlete of the Week. Zye Crittington joins Nicole Heavirland and Lindsay Clark as award recipients, and put in a noteworthy performance during West Point’s 68-15 victory over Norwich last weekend.
Two weekends ago, Life (2-1) traveled north for its first two games of the season. After a shutout win against West Chester, the Running Eagles dropped a 14-point game to Quinnipiac. When the team returned to Marietta, Ga., coach Ros Chou tailored training to address some deficiencies discovered while on tour.
In what has become the standard, the Army (4-2) vs. American International College (2-3) game came down to single digits. Saturday’s game was the tightest contest to date, as the Black Knights went ahead 19-17 in the 70th minute and held on for the win.
An absolutely fantastic weekend evolved in State College, Pa., as three of the top-ranked DI women’s colleges assembled for a round robin. This was no friendly series, however, as Penn State, Lindenwood, and Army all knew this competition would be the best competition they’d see before post-season.
Lindenwood’s first and second sides have played two games apiece, and they’ve combined for a 390-0 scoreline. But the Lady Lions aren’t padding their schedule with gimme games; those victories came against two traditionally strong DI teams, Northern Iowa and Indiana. And this weekend, the Missouri side travels to State College, Pa., to take on Army and Penn State.
Easily the biggest women’s college game of the weekend, Army defeated Norwich 43-17 in a varsity shocker. The victory marked the first time that the West Pointers defeated the Cadets in 15s.
The Army Athletic Association chose Nicole Heavirland as its first Athlete of the Week for the fall 2015 season. It was a good selection considering that the Cadets’ 29-24 win over Quinnipiac headlined a very exciting weekend of college rugby (read more).
The second DI game of the varsity season occurred between Army and American International College yesterday, and the Cadets put themselves on the winning end of a thrilling 29-26 contest. The Yellow Jackets did well to overcome a two-try deficit in the first half and even briefly took the lead, but a 75th minute try gave the West Pointers the cushion they needed for the win.
Army is the new DI ACRA 7s champion, unseating Norwich after a 22-7 title bout. It’s tempting to focus on the victories over the Vermont side, which had won 63-straight 7s games entering this weekend’s championship, but the spotlight needs to shine on the West Pointers themselves. The hosts dominated the field and played a commanding, smart campaign to the title.